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Silence DoGood

@woman in calif "Everyone can make a living if they apply themselves."

And the team can always win if they play hard. What do you live in a Disney movie? I know first hand many very "applied" smart degree'd accomplished people who get the boot from corporate America for no reason other than cutting a few salaries to compensate for management screw-up. And they look for more than a year for the job to match their skills. How dare you speak for everyone.

You sound like the compassion poster child for the Far Right: "I happen to have gotten mine – forget everyone else".

December 6, 2013 01:20 pm at 1:20 pm |

tom l

@Anonymous
"This is the lowest labor participation rate since 1979. That means of the people that are able to work, at the present time only 63% of those individuals are working. In the 8 years prior to President Obama, the lowest it ever got was 65.8% which was in December of 2008. In 2009, it drifted down to the low 65's and then into the high 64's. By 2010, it went into the low 64's and then by 2012 it fell all the way down to the 63's and dipped into the 62's before it's current standing of 63%. Those are staggering numbers. Do you realize how many people were talking about with a drop like that? There's no way to spin those numbers (although I know Sniffit will ).
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No spin, Tom. These are the HIGHEST employment participation numbers since that liitle economic unpleasantness that occurred under Bush. The thing you cannot spin is that the Right has done nothing to fix this. They have blocked virtually every initiative of the President, and in fact in October tried to crash the economy again by voting for default.

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You are referring to the "unemployment rate" (which was never higher than 7% until the last month in the previous 8 years before Obama and was in the 4's for a long time). That number can and is rigged by each and every administration (i.e. if you are "not looking for work" because your unemployment insurance has run out, you are not counted in the unemployment rate). Look at the "labor participation rate". That statistic demonstrates what percentage of workers that CAN work are ACTUALLY employed. That number cannot be rigged. It takes how many people are working and divides by the entire available workforce. You are throwing out tired talking points that are irrelevant. Under Bush, and I am no Bush fan, your rate that you want to refer to was far, far lower. This is the first time in Obama's presidency that he actually has an unemployment rate that is lower than Bush's highest rate. Educate yourself instead of glomming on to liberal talking points (and, most definitely, don't listen to Rudy)

December 6, 2013 01:22 pm at 1:22 pm |

Lynda/Minnesota

@ Woman in California

I stopped laughing long ago. My heart goes out to those trying to do what is necessary by working ANY job available to provide food and shelter for their families.

December 6, 2013 02:10 pm at 2:10 pm |

Rudy NYC

Tommy G

But many of the western red states don't even control their land. The federal government controls most of the land in many red states abd refuses to relinquish it to the state. How much of California, New York, Massachusetsts, New Jersey, etc. do the feds own and control? Almost nothing.
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The largest national park east of the Mississippi is located in New York State. Adirondack Park measures 150 miles by 90.

Just to be clear, Woman in California has never opined her support of the "Far Right" policies.

December 6, 2013 02:21 pm at 2:21 pm |

Rudy NYC

Fair is Fair

Exactly what kind of job do you give a high-school dropout whose reading skills are at the 4th grade level, communication skills are atrocious, and don't even ask about math skills?
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Rand Paul speech writer.